


Keep a Little Optimism

by Nokomis



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Light Hearted Teen Romance, MJ thinks emotions are hard, Matchmaking, Peter POV, and talking to cute girls is even harder, gratiutous star wars references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 16:58:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18480475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nokomis/pseuds/Nokomis
Summary: Peter plays cupid for MJ and Shuri to a (shockingly) non-disastrous result.





	Keep a Little Optimism

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to the lovely Lielabell for looking over this for me! I've had this fic languishing half-written for ages and am delighted to finally have it finished. ♥

“What the hell do you mean, you’re grounded?” MJ poked him in the shoulder accusingly. “You can’t be grounded from seeing someone.”

“See, the thing is, you can be if there’s royalty involved,” Peter said, leaning against his locker and sighing. Class change was happening in the hall around them like normal, and it served as a bizarre backdrop to the conversation topic at hand. “King T’Challa was less than happy about the incident, and he said I was absolutely not allowed to have any interaction with Shuri, at all.”

And honestly, if you had told him a year ago that he would be on an _actual real-life king’s_ shitlist, he wouldn’t have believed you. Developing superpowers after a spider bite? Totally plausible. Making a king’s shitlist? Wildly improbable. 

“Since when do we listen to adults? I thought that was the whole advantage of being a teenager,” MJ said, looking to Ned for backup. 

Ned nodded his agreement. “We get so few.”

“The thing is, Tony agreed? Somehow he convinced Karen to block all my messages to and from Shuri,” Peter said. “I honestly feel most betrayed by Karen. I can’t believe she won’t go against Tony.”

“Yeah, this is not happening,” MJ said. Peter recognized that voice. Last time he’d heard it, the librarian had cried. “You’re an Avenger, Peter, you can’t let other Avengers ground you.”

“Yeah, Peter, it’s pretty weak to just ignore your friend just because some old dudes tell you to,” Ned said. 

Peter clunked his head back against his locker. “I have multiple AIs working against me. How do you propose I contact Shuri?”

“Peter, Peter, Peter,” MJ said. “You’re thinking inside the box here. You have to expand your horizons.”

Of course MJ already had an idea. “Well? Expand away, MJ.”

She pulled a pencil out of her bag and tapped him on the chest with it. “Snail mail exists, dumbass.”

*

It turned out that sending a letter to Wakanda was difficult, given its general aura of secrecy, but sending a letter to a cultural outreach program in Oakland was easy as pie. They stopped by the post office after school, and MJ paid for it to be overnighted. Peter raised his eyebrow at her.

“What?” she said, not looking at him. “Probably Shuri thinks you’re ignoring her on purpose. You need to fix this.”

“Uh-huh,” Ned said. There was a frozen yogurt shop nearby and they stopped in. Peter should be heading out for patrol, but starting late one day wouldn’t hurt. Besides, he could use the extra fuel. He added extra gummy worms to his frozen yogurt, just in case there was a lot of crime for him to stop. 

“I feel like Shuri knows her brother’s pissed off about what happened,” Peter said, letting MJ off the hook. 

“What, exactly, did happen?” MJ said. “You’ve been vague.”

“Well,” Peter said, “Shuri and I were talking about different applications of my webbing. And we thought about using it as an adhesive, so she tested it out. By applying webbing to the inside of the Black Panther suit.”

Ned choked on a bite of froyoz. “No. She didn’t!”

“Doesn’t it take hours for the webbing to dissolve?” MJ snickered. “Oh my god. I hope King T’Challa didn’t need to use the bathroom.”

“It did not go over well,” Peter said. “Hence the enforced radio silence.”

“That totally sounds like the kind of thing Tony Stark would think was hilarious,” Ned said. “So why did he enforce it?”

“Well,” Peter said, “I think maybe that had to do with how we added a bunch of keyboard shortcuts to Mr. Stark’s computer system.”

“He’s _Tony Stark_ ,” Ned said. “Couldn’t he just fix them?”

“Not when you secretly add a chip that Shuri designed that locks him out of all his settings,” Peter said. It had been one of the most devious things he’d ever pulled off. Shuri was a multi-layered genius. “He probably would have laughed it off, except for how we maybe went overboard.”

Changing the word “I” to the lyrics to Black Sabbath’s Iron Man had been great. Changing every other common word they could think of to other dad rock songs? Probably was what had put it over the edge. 

They had just gotten on a roll, and it had seemed hilarious at the time. 

He hadn’t expected to be grounded from _Shuri_ over it, though. They hadn’t known each other long but she was already one of his favorite people on earth. 

The conversation hit a lull after that, while Peter spent a few minutes basking in the memory of having successfully punked Iron Man and a monarch. He ate his gummy bears one by one, leaning over to see what MJ was scrolling through on her phone. 

It was Shuri’s wiki page. Peter raised an eyebrow as MJ hastily closed it out. Way too hastily to be casual. 

Ned, oblivious, had finished his dessert and had pulled out his physics homework. Or, tried to. He dug around in his bag for a minute before sighing. “Oh crap, I left my physics book in my locker.”

“Get it in the morning,” MJ said with the casual shrug of someone unphased by the scolding of authority figures.

“Um, I am not risking my perfect homework score like that,” Ned said, shoving his folder back into his bag. 

“ See ya,” Peter said as Ned hustled out of the shop. Once they were alone, MJ started sliding her current book into her bag, like she was going to sneak away from him, but Peter leaned his elbow on it. MJ would never leave a book behind. “So, MJ. It’s super weird to me that you don’t have Shuri’s number.”

“I know, right,” MJ said lightly. “Gotta keep my brand as the friendless one.”

“I mean, your phone isn’t even Stark Tech,” Peter said. “Mr. Stark couldn’t have locked you out.”

“That’s a valid point, and one you should consider for your own future tech purchases.” MJ raised an eyebrow at him. 

“I’m just saying, I thought you hit it off with Shuri,” Peter said. He kept his Avengers life and his regular life pretty separate, but when Shuri had come to New York, she hadn’t been interested in the superhero life. She saw that all the time, she’d said. She’d wanted to hang out with Peter doing normal things, and he’d invited MJ and Ned along.

Ned had only called her “Your Highness” a few times on accident while MJ’s surliest comments had caused Shuri to laugh bright and loud. Peter had considered the first real collision of his friend-life and his Avenger-life a success. It had been after they’d spent the day doing touristy things and eating at places Shuri had seen on the Food Network that, after parting ways with Ned and MJ, that Peter and Shuri had infiltrated Tony’s lab and caused autocorrect mayhem. 

That had been a week ago. 

“She’s cool,” MJ said, gathering her trash up. She took it to the trash can immediately and took her time in returning, reading all the signs on the wall as though they were the most fascinating thing she’d ever seen.

Peter was awesome at avoidance so he definitely recognized it when he saw it. 

“It’s okay, MJ, I won’t ask you anything else about Shuri,” Peter called. “You can come back now.”

The glare she directed at him was one of the most intimidating he’d seen out of her. He held his hands up in mock-surrender. 

“Loser,” MJ said as she returned.

“You know, if you’d asked Shuri for her number we wouldn’t be in this mess,” Peter said, because it was awesome to have something concrete to tease MJ about. She always had so much ammunition against him, whereas she was a fortress of cool aloofness. 

“Passing the blame isn’t cute, Parker,” MJ said.

“But you’re not denying it,” Peter said. “You think Shuri’s cuuute.” 

MJ rolled her eyes and stuck her book in her bag. “So what?”

Peter knew not to push MJ too far -- she knew too many of his secrets, up to and including incriminating photos of him falling flat on his face that he didn’t particularly want the other Avengers to see -- so he dropped it for real this time.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to play cupid.

*

The next day during Decathalon practice, MJ’s phone buzzed. This was unusual in and of itself -- normally her phone was tucked away in her bag during class and lessons, as MJ prided herself on her ability to untether herself from technology. It was also unusual because MJ glanced down at her screen, made a small sound that Peter could only describe as a squeak, and turned her phone face down with a clatter.

“Wow, did you just get sent a nude? Share with the class!” Flash said immediately, craning his neck to look at MJ’s phone. 

It sat silently, still facedown, before buzzing again. MJ did not turn it over to see the message, just glared at Flash. “What was Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins known for?”

“Actually checking his messages?” Abraham chimed in.

MJ rolled her eyes, but Peter knew her well enough now to see that she was flustered. He would rather have MJ as a friend than an enemy, so he got up to refill his water bottle, and accidentally tripped and spilled it on Flash.

Just his arm got wet, but his squeal made it seem like he’d been doused. Peter calmly accepted the brunt of Flash’s commentary about what a disaster he was, while MJ used the distraction to peek at her phone, make the single most adorable expression Peter had ever seen her make, then shove her phone into her bag.

After practice concluded -- ten minutes earlier than usual -- Peter stuck around while MJ gathered up the study materials off the table.

“So?”

“So what?” MJ carefully stacked the science study sheets together. 

“What’d she say?” 

MJ swatted him with the pile of papers. “Nothing. Hi.”

“Hi? Really?” Peter grinned at her, pretending to rub his arm where she’d hit it. “Just hi?”

“Just hi,” MJ said. She pulled out her phone, stared at the messages again. “And says that you two were idiots, and she’s got an AI workaround almost ready. She’ll call you when it’s done.”

“Cool,” Peter said. “And now you’ve got her number.”

“I told her thanks,” MJ said. 

Peter raised his eyebrows at her, and MJ sighed. “There’s nothing else to say.”

“I’m just saying, she’d totally be charmed by your whole,” Peter waved his hand at MJ, “schtick. You know. Who you are as a person.”

“Fuck off,” MJ said, but she was smiling.

Peter obeyed, hoping like hell that MJ would talk with Shuri more. He adored them both, and he could see just how perfectly they would fit together -- Shuri’s optimism and MJ’s cynicism, both sides of the same drive to see the world a better place than it already was. 

*

Peter was hanging above Queens, watching a kid pace back and forth in front of a bicycle, as if he were deciding whether or not to steal it. Peter hoped he made up his mind soon one way or another, because he’d spent five minutes watching him debate over it.

He almost fell off his upside-down perch on the underside of a fire escape when suddenly a voice yelled, “Spider-dude!” in his ear.

It took him a long second -- too long -- to realize that it was literally _in_ his ear. “Shuri?”

“I broke through the AI block,” Shuri said cheerfully. “Stark did a good job, it took me most of the afternoon to work around it. I’m glad you sent the letter, I thought that you were just giving me the cold shoulder for eyeing up your girl.”

“My…” Peter blinked a few times. “MJ?”

“Yeah, that’s the one,” Shuri said. “Tall, gorgeous, nose in a book?”

Peter paused. “She’s not my girl. Just my friend. Not that friendship is any less a valid entanglement than romance…” He trailed off before he gave Shuri too much of a sneak peak into what being around MJ was like. 

“Oh.” Shuri suddenly sounded much less cheerful.

“She is single, though,” Peter said, even though he knew MJ would kill him for it. “And she was happy to hear from you earlier.”

He valued his life enough to not mention the squeak.

“Oh,” Shuri said again. “Um.”

“You know,” Peter said, because he was already in a hole. Why stop digging now? “I think that we should all hang out again, you know? Maybe without, you know, gluing your brother into his suit.”

“What fun’s that?” Shuri said. A pause, as if she were considering it, then she said, “Yeah, what the hell. I’m in.”

*

MJ hadn’t reacted when Peter told her over lunch at Midtown High that Shuri was coming for another visit -- clandestine as it would have to be, given that they were still technically grounded from one another. She hadn’t even looked up from _The Haunting of Hill House_ , though Peter noticed she hadn’t actually turned a page in a while. 

Peter left the bulk of his conversation out -- it was better that way. He’d already overstepped the boundaries of friendship by hinting to Shuri that MJ was interested. He felt vaguely guilty about that, but probably MJ would do the same for him.

Ned, however, was beyond hyped, and kept repeating, “I can’t believe we’re friends with a princess. An inventor princess! She’s so cool.”

MJ made an despairing sound at the same page of her book that she’d now been on for fifteen minutes.

“Do you think she’d take us to Wakanda?” Ned rested his chin on his hand dreamily, narrowly avoiding putting his elbow in the mashed potatoes on his tray. “Can you imagine? All that tech. What if she let us play with some vibranium? It would be like going to freaking space, only better, because we’re friends with their princess. She’s definitely our Leia.”

“Shuri gets to be Leia?” MJ sounded vaguely insulted.

“Obviously Peter’s our Luke, with his superpowers and weird father figure who wears a full body suit,” Ned said.

“Mr. Stark isn’t evil, though,” Peter pointed out loyally, though he respected that Ned hadn’t added that he’d been raised by his aunt and uncle as proof. 

Ned waved his hand dismissively. “And obviously I am your Yoda. Wise, knowing, smart enough to stay on the sidelines when shit goes down, still waiting on that piggy-back ride through the swamp…”

“It’s gonna happen, Ned, there just aren’t many swamps in Queens,” Peter said.

“And MJ is our Han Solo,” Ned continued. “Brave, mouthy, would absolutely shoot first if necessary…”

“I think your analogy is weak,” MJ muttered, sticking a bookmark in her book and finally closing it, clearly giving up on getting any deeper into the story. “I’m much cooler than Han Solo ever thought about being.”

“Definitely has that Solo self-confidence,” Peter told Ned, grinning as MJ scowled at them both. “Does this mean I get the first Shuri-smooch?”

“Absolutely not,” MJ said vehemently, then dropped her head to the table when Ned and Peter snickered at her. “You two are the worst.”

“We know,” Peter chorused with Ned, laughing.

*

Shuri arrived on Friday afternoon, landing an extremely cool jet on the roof of Peter’s apartment building. He spent twenty minutes looking it over and trying unsuccessfully to talk Shuri into letting him take it for a quick spin before she grabbed him by the hand and dragged him towards the roof access door.

MJ was uncharacteristically late, so Peter invited Shuri into his apartment with Ned, where they ate Aunt May’s leftover pad thai and Ned showed Shuri off their greatest Lego creations.

Pretty soon they were all working on reconfiguring the Death Star to shoot actual lasers, which Peter had never considered attempting before. 

By the time MJ arrived, almost an hour late, biting her lip as she came through the door, they’d started rummaging through Peter’s stockpile of found electronics to rig up their own lightsabers. 

“Nerds,” MJ said fondly by way of greeting, and Shuri beamed up at her. MJ responded by grabbing Peter by the arm and tugging him into his room, shutting the door behind them. 

“Um,” Peter said. “The cute girl is out there.”

“That’s the problem!” MJ glared at the door like it had done something to personally offend her. “It’s… it’s stupid, okay?”

“Okay,” Peter said slowly. 

MJ sighed and threw herself back on Peter’s bed, staring up at the top bunk. “I know it’s shocking, given how extremely extroverted I am, but… I’ve never done this before.”

“Oh,” Peter said. MJ was nervous. “That’s kind of part of it? I mean. My dating history is… not great, so probably I’m the wrong person to offer advice. But. You’re doing fine.”

“I’m a disaster, is what I am,” MJ said. “I have actual butterflies, Peter. Butterflies in my stomach because she smiled at me! This is unacceptable.”

Laughing was the wrong response. Peter knew that. It took everything within him to hold in the giggle, though. “Human emotions happen to the best of us, MJ.”

“Well they’re incredibly dumb,” MJ said. “This is like a bandaid, right?”

“Right,” Peter said, even though it absolutely was not.

“Okay.” MJ nodded. “Good pep talk.” She fist-bumped him on the way out, and Peter trailed along, shrugging helplessly at Ned when they rejoined the lightsaber party. 

Shuri, for her part, looked mostly unphased that MJ had effectively fled from her. Probably she was used to it, Peter figured, what with being who she was. Still, she looked nervous when MJ walked right up to her and stood over her, hands on her hips.

Peter sat down next to Ned, picking up a screwdriver and prodding at a half-finished lightsaber.

“MJ looks super mad,” Ned hissed.

“Emotions are her nemesis,” Peter whispered back.

“So,” MJ said. “Shuri. I.”

She trailed off, and looked back at Peter. He did a go-on gesture at her. She took a deep breath, and said, “Shuri, do you want to go out on, like, a date-like thing? With me, preferably.”

Shuri beamed up at her. “Absolutely.”

“I understand if you don’t-- wait,” MJ said, actually focusing on Shuri. “Did you say yes?”

“Yes,” Shuri said. She stood up, straightening her shirt, and reaching out to take one of MJ’s hands. “I was hoping you’d ask. Well, planning on asking myself, really, but this way is more fun.”

“Rad,” MJ said, looking down at their entwined hands before glaring over at Peter and Ned. “Out of the room, losers, I’m about to get my smooch on.”

Peter caught a glimpse of Shuri’s delighted smile as MJ lightly touched her cheek, leaning in. Then he pushed Ned into his room, shutting the door to give them privacy.

“Our Han and Leia got together a lot quicker than the OG ones,” Ned said, sounding slightly disappointed. “I was hoping that we’d get to lock them in a closet or something fun like that.”

“It’s probably better for us this way, though,” Peter said. “I wouldn’t want on either of their bad sides.”

“Fair,” Ned said. “Wait. Didn’t you say Shuri’s jet is on the roof?”

Peter glanced at the door. “How long do you think they’ll be distracted?”

Ned pointed to the window. “Long enough for you to Yoda-backpack me up to the Wakandan future jet, my good sir.”


End file.
